Operating device for writing appliances with retractable writing elements



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United States Patent 3,427,113 OPERATING DEVICE FOR WRITING APPLIANCES WITH RETRACTABLE WRITING ELEMENTS Jean Bourbon, St. Lupicin, France, assignor to Etablissements A. Bourbon & Fils, Saint-Lupicin, Jura, France, a joint-stock company of France Filed Mar. 15, 1966, Ser. No. 534,302 US. Cl. 401-112 Int. Cl. B431; 7/12, 24/08, 3/04 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to improvements in operating devices for projecting and retracting the writing elements of pencils, ball-point pens, or other similar writing appliances having a retractable writing component.

The invention aims to create an appliance of this nature which shall be particularly simple, and cheap to manufacture, while on the other hand it ensures efiective working of the appliance.

The operating means according to the invention for writing appliances with retractable writing elements, such as ball-point pens, having a casing in which the retractable Writing element is resiliently urged towards a push button, comprises a flat push rod connected to the push button by a flexible connector, the lower end of the push rod having two laterally spaced apart lugs separated by a central recess, and the push rod having a hook on one of its sides adjacent to one of the said lugs, fixed bosses being pro vided on the casing at opposite sides of the push rod so as to laterally displace the top of the writing element which is resiliently urged so as to bring it in alternate engagement with one or the other of the said two lugs of the push rod so as to deform the flexible connector in order to engage or disengage the hook with respect to a fixed complementary member on the casing each time the push button is operated.

It may thus be seen that one of the essential characteristics of the invention is to bring to bear on the flat pushrod a rotating or rocking torque which tends to make it swing transversally in one direction or the other, under the action of the pressure of the customary return-spring of the cartridge of the Writing device.

Operating means for the retractable element of a writing appliance constructed according to the invention, will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is an axial section through the operating means showing the writing element in the retracted position,

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the means shown in FIGURE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing an intermediate position of the parts during projection of the writing element,

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 1, but showing the parts with the writing element in its writing or projected position,

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4, but showing ice the parts when a manipulating button has been depressed to retract the writing element, and

FIGURE 6 shows the parts with the writing element in retracted position and when the button has been released.

Referring to the drawings, the parts illustrated comprise the upper part of a ball-point pen with a retractable writing element. This pen includes principally a cartridge A, of known type, which a spring (not shown) presses constantly upwards in the direction shown by the arrow 1. The cartridge A consists of a plastic tube containing a viscous ink and its flexibility is dependent on to laterally displace the top of the cartridge A inside the pen during the different working phases of the device.

This device includes essentially a cylindrical case B and a push button C which is attached by a flexible component D to a flat push-rod E.

The assembly CD-E is made in one piece of a plastic material. The button C is cylindrical and it has on one side a longitudinal groove 2, in which a radial nipple 3 engages, same projecting into the interior of the case B, in order to limit the longitudinal sliding movements of the push button C.

For assembly one must rely on the elastic flexibility of the case B, which may be flattened or made oval temporarily while the nipple 3 is being engaged in the groove 2, until the nipple 3 snaps into the groove 2. The reverse deformation of case B is then impossible when the case B is itself pressed lightly into the upper part of the pen, which is not shown.

The flexible component D is made in a sinuous shape, formed by two transverse notches 4 and 5 arranged so as to be staggered. The push button C, being cylindrical and solid, behaves like a rigid body, while the flexible component D and the push-rod E are flat (FIGURE 2). Thus the component D may be deformed when the push-rod E is caused to swing sideways towards the left (FIGURES 3 and 4) or towards the right (FIGURE 5).

The push-rod E has a generally rectangular shape in which its width is closely equal to the internal diameter of the case B. The bottom of this push-rod includes two lateral lugs 6 and 7 which are separated by a central depression 8. In addition, the vertical side of the push-rod E situated above the lug 6 is deeply cut out so as to form a hook 9, pointing upwards and provided with an inclined engagement face 10.

It is important to note that the thickness 11 of the pushrod is less than the diameter 12 of the cartridge A (FIG- URES 1 and 2).

The case B is provided at its lower end with two diametrically opposed slots 13 and 14 the width of which is closely equal to the thickness 11 of the push-rod E with little play.

The upper part of the slot 13 is terminated by an inclined face 15 which flares out upwardly in the direction of the outside of the case B. This inclined face 15 is thus directed in the same direction as the face 10 of the hook 9.

Below this inclined face 15, there are provided on the case B two fixed bosses 16 which project towards the interior and which are each terminated towards the bottom by an inclined face 17. In the same way there are provided at the bottom of the slot 14 on each side of the latter two bosses 18 projecting towards the interior of the case B. These bosses are terminated towards the bottom by inclined faces 19.

The bosses 16 are displaced in an axial direction in relation to the bosses 18 which are situated at a higher level opposite that of the face 15.

It will be understood that when the button C is fully depressed into the case B, the push-rod B will be able to swing freely towards the right or towards the left, engaging in one or the other of the slots 13 and 14; on the other 3 hand, the top of the cartridge A abuts against the inclined faces 17 or 19 of the bosses 16 or 18, which thus tend to push it towards the centre of the case B if at the moment of movement the top of this cartridge A is to be displaced to the left or to the right.

The top a of the cartridge A is preferably rounded to facilitate its transfer from one to the other of the lugs 6 and 7 as will be described.

The operation is as follows:

When the writing cartridge A is in the retracted position, the device according to the invention appears as in the positionillustrated in FIGURE 1.

When the button C is depressed against the elastic reaction of the return spring of the cartridge A, the push rod E is subjected to a swinging torque which tends to make it pivot in the direction indicated by the arrow 20 (FIGURE 3), since the top of the cartridge A is in contact with the left lug 6. As soon as the hook 9 reaches a level lower than that of the inclined face 15, the pushrod E swings toward the left, as shown in FIGURE 3, by bending the element D. In doing this, the lug 6 enters the slot 13 and it is accompanied in this movement by the top of the cartridge A with which it remain-s in contact. The top of this cartridge is thus displaced toward the left in the direction indicated by the arrow 20.

When the user stops pressing the button C (FIGURE 4) the latter is pushed back upwardly by the pressure of the cartridge A. There results from this a double displacement.

On the one hand, the hook 9, having reached engagement on the tip of the inclined face 15, the ascending movement of the assembly C-DE accentuates the swing of the push-rod E in the direction of the arrow 20 until the hook 9 is completely engaged on the edge of the case B at the level of this inclined face 15.

On the other hand, the top of the cartridge A comes into contact with the inclined face 17 of the bosses 16, and the rising of the cartridge A is therefore accompanied by a displacement of its top in a direction opposite to that of the arrow 20, which has the eflect of transferring the top of cartridge A onto the right lug 7.

The ball-point pen is then ready to be used for writing.

When it is desired to retract the writing element, it is suflicient to press the button C again (FIGURE The vertically upward pressure of the cartridge A, being this time applied on the right lug 7 of the push-rod E, the latter tends to swing in the direction indicated by the arrow 21 by deforming the flexible component D. This movement effectively takes place as soon as the push-rod E has been depressed sufliciently for the hook 9 to disengage from the inclined face 15. The right hand portion of the push-rod E then enters the slot 14 and the top of the cartridge A accompanies it in this transverse movement.

If the user then releases the button C, the assembly CDE is pressed back upwardly under the pressure of the cartridge A, and the hook 9, withdrawn toward the right, is no longer stopped by the inclined face 15, so that the push-button C returns to the position shown in FIG- URE 1, following which the bottom of the groove 2 engages with the nipple 3. Meanwhile, during this rising,

4 the top of the cartridge A meets the inclined faces 19 of the bosses 18, which push it back toward the left as it rises. Since the top of the cartridge A remains in contact with the bottom of the push-rod E, it thus is transferred from the lug 7 (FIGURE 5) to the lug 6 (FIGURE 6).

It must moreover be understood that the preceding description has been given only by way of example and that it in no way limits the scope of the invention which will not be exceeded by replacing the details of construction described by any other equivalents.

In particular, the framework of the invention would not be exceeded by manufacturing the flexible element D in any shape whatever, or by using three separate components C, D, E assembled together instead of being made in a single piece.

It will also be understood that although the invention has been described as applied to a ball-point pen, it can equally well be adapted for any other writing instrument, e.g., a pencil.

What is claimed is:

1. An operating device for writing appliances with re tractable writing elements, principally for ball-point pens, comprising a casing, a Writing element resiliently urged towards a retracted position, a push button for displacing said writing element against the action of resilient means, a flat push rod, flexible connecting means between said push button and said flat push rod, two laterally spaced lugs on the bottom of said push rod separated by a central depression, a hook on one side of said push rod adjacent one of said lugs, a complementary formation on said casing for engagement by said hook, and fixed bosses on the casing at opposite sides of said push rod for en gaging with and laterally displacing the top of the writing element to bring the top of said writing element into alternate engagement with said lugs on said push rod and deform said flexible connecting means to engage and disengage said hook with said complementary formation when said push button is actuated; one of said fixed bosses being disposed opposite to and at the same level as said complementary formation and the other of said fixed bosses being disposed at a lower level than the first mentioned fixed boss.

2. An operating device as claimed in claim 1, in which said flexible connecting means has two transverse notches staggered relatively to one another to provide a sinuous shape for said flexible connecting means.

3. An operating device as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said fixed bosses is comprised of a pair of spaced apart fixed bosses adapted to 'slidably receive said flat push rod therebetween, each boss having a lower face inclined upwardly in the direction toward the center of said casing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,930,355 3/1960 Bollerup 401-113 2,930,356 3/1960 Liguori 4011l3 3,298,357 1/1967 Bross 401- LAWRENCE CHARLES, Primary Examiner. 

